Citizens & Northern Co. (NASDAQ:CZNC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Citizens & Northern Co. (NASDAQ:CZNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,600 shares, a growth of 49.4% from the April 30th total of 92,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 29,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Citizens & Northern Stock Performance

CZNC stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.48. The company had a trading volume of 16,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,304. The firm has a market cap of $286.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.53. Citizens & Northern has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $22.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $27.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.30 million. Citizens & Northern had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 9.71%. On average, analysts expect that Citizens & Northern will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens & Northern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Citizens & Northern's payout ratio is 64.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Citizens & Northern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Insider Transactions at Citizens & Northern

In other news, Director Terry L. Lehman bought 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.70 per share, for a total transaction of $26,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $528,031.90. This trade represents a 5.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 2,210 shares of company stock worth $41,542. Corporate insiders own 4.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens & Northern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Citizens & Northern by 4,814.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Citizens & Northern by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Citizens & Northern by 179.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,418 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Citizens & Northern by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Citizens & Northern by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.83% of the company's stock.

Citizens & Northern Company Profile

Citizens & Northern Corp. is a holding company, which engages in community banking. It provides a full range of banking and mortgage services to individual and corporate customers in North Central Pennsylvania and Southern New York State. The firm's lending products include mortgage loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans.